Kospi buy-side sidecar activated as benchmark stages dramatic rebound above 8,000

A temporary buy-side trading curb known locally as a sidecar was activated on the Kospi on Friday afternoon amid a sharp rebound.

It was triggered in the securities market at 1:47:16 p.m., according to the Korea Exchange. 

A Kospi sidecar is triggered when Kospi 200 futures prices rise 5 percent or more above a baseline price and sustain that level for one minute.

The Kospi opened Friday's session up 1.20 percent from the previous day at 7,739.75, but reversed into negative territory shortly after the open. The index fell as low as 7,378.10 during the session. It began rebounding around 10 a.m. and extended its gains, breaking through the 8,000 mark at 1:39 p.m. As of 1:55 p.m., the Kospi stood at 8,058.69, up 5.37 percent from the previous day.

Among the most heavily weighted stocks, Samsung Electronics was trading at 312,500 won, up 9.27 percent from the previous day, while SK hynix was trading at 2,399,000 won, up 9.69 percent.

Foreign and individual investors sold a net 1.479 trillion won and 1.262 trillion won respectively, while institutions bought a net 2.6539 trillion won.

The Kosdaq stood at 859.93, down 0.78 percent from the previous day. The index opened up 0.98 percent at 875.18 but fell as low as 823.98 during the session. Foreign and institutional investors sold a net 12.8 billion won and 116.4 billion won respectively, while individual investors bought a net 119.6 billion won.

BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]